PRESIDENT MARY McAleese has expressed her dismay at the findings of the commission that clerical child sexual abuse was covered up by the Archdiocese of Dublin and that the State authorities facilitated the cover-up.“This failure to prioritise the protection and welfare of children has left a legacy of great hurt for those abused and their families, and our first thoughts are with them on this very difficult day. It goes without saying that a key priority now is to ensure that every assistance and support is provided to them,” said the President.
The Government, in a statement, said that while much of the report painted a damning picture of the handling by the church of allegations of abuse, it also pointed up the failings of State agencies.
“Whatever the historical and societal reasons for this, the Government, on behalf of the State, apologises without reservation or equivocation, for the failures by the agencies of the State in dealing with this issue.”
However, Fine Gael TD Alan Shatter accused the Government of “staggering hypocrisy”, saying State agencies were still failing to provide children with protection.
“We should not forget that Fianna Fáil-led governments have been in office for 20 out of the last 22 years and that it is Fianna Fáil in Government who are responsible for our currently dysfunctional childcare and protection system,” said Mr Shatter.
He said that of 24,668 reports of children at risk made to the Health Service Executive last year, only 15,364 were assessed and 9,304 were neither assessed nor investigated.
“The obsessive secrecy and the cover-up mentality documented and criticised in the report applicable to the church’s dealings with allegations of sexual abuse equally today applies to the approach taken by the HSE and the Department for Children to failures in our child protection services,” he said.
Labour Party spokesman on justice Pat Rabbitte said the report was a shocking indictment of the church authorities and it made clear very significant failures on the part of the State authorities.
Green Party spokesman on justice Ciarán Cuffe said it beggared belief that no archbishop reported child sexual abuse to the Garda throughout the 1960s, 1970s or 1980s. “The Catholic Church must question its whole approach to sexuality in the light of Judge Murphy’s report.
“At a time when members of the Catholic Church hierarchy are actively campaigning against the Civil Partnership Bill being brought before the Dáil next week, there must be a pause for reflection . . . and a more concerted effort to protect the vulnerable.”
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